Dishes Dilemma: Pre-Rinse or Not?

by Joanne Camas

on 12/28/08 at 02:37 PM

As we waddled into the kitchen to clean up after various holiday dinners, we debated the merits or even necessity of pre-rinsing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. The hard-core pre-rinsers also turned out to be the people who handwashed a lot of pots and larger bowls, while the stack-it-all contingent were happy to let the machine do the dirty work.

Luckily I'd just read a column by Umbra on Grist.com examining the pros and cons of rinsing, handwashing, and even different types of detergent. Made for lively after-dinner conversation...

I don't believe in dishwashers.
No, not even after parties. Go ahead and call me crazy. Call me Un-American, even. But I think if you're going through all the trouble of rinsing you might as well take another few seconds and wash. Dry and put away as you go.
Also I enjoy the zen of it all; the mindless yet productive work of cleaning the kitchen after a meal. With a helper or two, it can sometimes be the best part of the evening.

ironstone4
11:09:56 PM on
12/29/08

My husbands son, a plumber, says "Rinse those dishes!!"

haineda
09:14:52 PM on
12/29/08

I have a Maytag dishwasher and I have never needed to pre-rinse. I have an uncle who is a Maytag repair man and he has shared many dishwasher secrets.
1. According to him, dishwashing powder will "go bad" as it ages. Over time, unsealed powder oxidizes and loses it's cleaning power. You may notice this when you open a new box of one product and it works really well. By the time you get to the end of the box you are looking for a new product. To that end, I find the Electrosol tabs work great.
2. Use a rinse aid. Not only will the dishes dry faster, but they will come out cleaner as the food particles will not re-deposit back on the dishes. I usually find that once my dishes start looking odd, I need to refill the dispenser.
3. Dishes dry perfectly well without the dry cycle. In the cold and dry of winter, opening the door at the end of the cycle will also add much needed humidity to the house and save energy.
4. Be careful when using Lemon or Orange scented dishwasher powder.... it tends to etch your glassware. Stick to the plain stuff

dlockridge
12:17:55 PM on
12/29/08

Unless you're running the dishwasher right away, some things need prerinsing, at least with our dishwasher. If we've had runny eggs, the egg yolks turn to glue when they dry so must be pre-rinsed. Grits and sticky Chinese rice are also foods that need to be pre-rinsed. And dried mayo or peanut butter do not seem to want to come off of knives, so those are a pre-rinse, as well.

gkskins
11:18:23 AM on
12/29/08

I too have a newer Bosch dishwasher, and it does a terrific job! Being a confirmed pre-rinser, to offset all of that water usage I use the Quick Wash cycle, which really is quick and efficient. We also only wash about once a week, so pre-rinsing is important; as well as hand washing pans and larger dishes, etc. Old habits die hard!

play_with_food
07:26:17 AM on
12/29/08

Even though I have a Bosch dishwasher that says you do not need to prerinse, my husband always does.He has many other rules on the loading of the dishwasher, and often will rearrange what I have loaded(we call him the dishwasher Nazi!)

Looney
02:16:15 AM on
12/29/08

We have a newish low-end dishwasher and only rinse the big chunks, unless cheese is involved. Otherwise I figure that anything left can be chisled off in less time than the wholesale pre-wash/rinse.

j_camas
12:02:42 AM on
12/29/08

The dog pre-rinse is an interesting strategy! I have a Bosch dishwasher and it does well with no pre-rinse. I do try to skip the dry cycle as I've read that is a big energy waste - opening the door seems to work just as well and saves some $$$.

Chocolatl
10:45:08 PM on
12/28/08

When somebody buys me a dishwasher, I'll let you know!
(Although I'm definitely in favor of anything that's less work.)

jhopper13
09:15:33 PM on
12/28/08

I agree - depends on the machine. Newer models seem to do more work - thus needing less/no pre-washing. Mine however, is older and seems to do less and less work as time goes on. I think my old family tradition seems to remedy the problem the best - let the dogs clean the plates; it doesn't waste additional water and you're guaranteed the plates will be spotless!

Rockie
09:09:51 PM on
12/28/08

When my old dishwasher was recalled (Maytag), we decided to go whole-hog and get a top-of-the- line model,(Kitchen Aid) stainless interior with an exterior to match our new cabinets. Many shekels later, the dishes still do not come out the way I want. I am convinced that loading properly, plus adding a pre-soak to some of the overly coated dishes helps, but so help me, for all the money we spent on this appliance, I would think that it would wash windows as well as dishes. And it doesn't do that very well, pre-rinsed or not. Use a top brand detergent, so who the hell knows??? I am more than annoyed, especially this time of year when everything in that kitchen gets used double-time!

cookshelly
08:10:57 PM on
12/28/08

Depends on the dishwasher and how often you run it. Dishes and pots that I know I will need before the dishwasher is run, I wash by hand. I run mine about twice a week, so I prerinse. I have a fairly new machine that is much more efficient than past models. That may be another factor. Interesting dinner conversation! :)

Hello_Kitty
06:29:29 PM on
12/28/08

The office folk insist on prerinsing, to the point that you can't tell if the machine is full of clean or dirty dishes. It gets run at least twice a week... with the same dishes in it.

At home, sometimes I'll soak a casserole or pot but, other than that, I make the dishwasher do it all.

Faitheliz
05:49:29 PM on
12/28/08

Stack, Stack, Stack. Pack those babies into the dishwasher and let it do the work. Thats what its there for in my mind......Drives my husband nuts.

SandyinTX
04:18:44 PM on
12/28/08

I assume you're actually asking, Do you pre-rinse dishes that are going in a dishwasher? If you wait to wash them, yes, they need rinsed! At work, we have a dishwasher in the employee kitchen/lunchroom, but it gets run maybe once a week, unless there's an office-wide meal on - so, yes, pre-rinse, altho I can't believe that's resource-efficient.
At home, I haven't had a dishwasher for, um, nearly 30 years - since I moved out of my parents' house - for handwashing, you stack the dishes in the sink, add soap, and run hot/warm water in - they pre-soak while waiting their turn with the scrubber, so it's kind of a moot point.

jackiecat
04:11:45 PM on
12/28/08

I think the answer depends on your dishwasher. Mine needs a prerinse (it has told me so several times) and even then, I don't use the dry cycle. Too many times I've had to deal with food baked on by the dry cycle!